Smart Calls on Giants’ Roster

The Giants had some tough decisions to make on their 25-man roster for the Atlanta series, and they handled it well. It couldn’t have taken much thought to remove Barry Zito; the only question there is whether he’ll pitch at all this postseason. I can’t imagine why, as long as the Giants advance without any injuries to their rotation.

The call on Jose Guillen is somewhat surprising, but correct. He picked the worst possible time to lose the snap on his batting stroke — one of the game’s best when it’s on — but he hasn’t been the same hitter since he tweaked his neck. He’s also a liability in the outfield and he’s not running that well. For the moment, in my mind, Cody Ross is an obvious call over Guillen every time.

Will Guillen be missed? Can’t see how. He was a mellow presence in the clubhouse and caused no problems, but outside of a memorable grand slam — the day he declared he had “officially” joined the club — he didn’t have a huge impact on the division race. Guillen can be a pill when he’s not playing, but a club source says he met with manager Bruce Bochy this afternoon and was able to accept the decision.

The Giants go into this series with a bullpen so deep, Dan Runzler and Chris Ray (never trust a slinger) won’t be missed. It’s also nice to see Edgar Renteria and Aaron Rowand make the cut. Not that they’ll necessarily play much, nor have they given much indication that they’d be major contributors. But these are smart, seasoned veterans with a ton of class and postseason experience, and they deserve to wear the uniform.

3-DOTTING: Giants fans are taking a major hit when it comes to the Division Series broadcasts. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, a staple of people’s lives all season, won’t be in the TV booth because TBS has exclusive rights. They’ll be on radio, but because of the delay between the TBS and KNBR signals, it’s awkward and unwieldy to turn down the sound on your television sets and hear the radio call. Worse yet, Jon Miller is making his usual excursion into national broadcasting, calling the Twins-Yankees series for ESPN radio. You can’t blame Miller, who established a chunk of his Hall of Fame credentials through years of ESPN work, but it’s a real shame when he can’t work the Giants’ games — and he feels the hurt, take my word for it . . . In case you didn’t catch the note, the Giants’ remarkable September ERA (1.78) is the lowest by a team for any full month since the 1968 Indians: 1.42 in that well-documented year of the pitcher . . . Buster Posey‘s Rookie of the Year credentials look especially strong in batting average (.313) and slugging percentage (.511). The only National League hitters who can match those totals are Albert Pujols, Carlos Gonzalez, Joey Votto and Matt Holliday. And only five N.L. rookies have matched or exceeded those numbers in the last 45 years: Pujols, Todd Helton, Mike Piazza, Ryan Braun and Hunter Pence . . . The Rookie of the Year voting closed on Sunday, the last day of the regular season, and while Posey was hitting a big homer against San Diego, the Braves’ Jason Heyward made a pretty nice last impression. After making a leaping catch to deny Shane Victorino‘s bid for a base hit, he tripled in a run, singled, and stole third base . . . The Giants have a long history with the Braves, including the 2002 Division Series (won by the Giants on their way to the World Series) and the 1993 division race, a colossal disappointment to the Giants — winning 103 games, yet finishing second and out of the playoffs — and a highly influential factor in establishing the wild card . . . Privately, the Braves are worried about their infield defense, especially Brooks Conrad and Omar Infante, who have switched positions (between second and third) without much luck in any case . . . It’s not often a team can make the playoffs after losing its No. 3 hitter, then losing it again. That happened to the Braves this year with season-ending injuries to Chipper Jones and Martin Prado . . . The Giants don’t want any part of closer Billy Wagner, who ended the season with a flourish, preserving the clutch 8-7 win over the Phillies on Sunday by striking out three consecutive hitters, looking, on wicked sliders. It was the first time all season the 39-year-old Wagner had been asked to get more than three outs, and he needed 21 pitches to get out of the eighth . . . Wagner is planning to retire, but he’s adamant (so far) about not discussing it. “I’d like to talk about what it means to leave the game,” he says, “but until I don’t show up next year, nobody’s going to believe me. Brett Favre f–d that up for everybody.”

After watching Roy Halladay no-hit his Cincinnati Reds last night, Dusty Baker probably can’t wait for the chance to turn reliever Aroldis Chapman loose on the Phillies. The Reds need an emotional boost, and there’s nothing like a guy who throws 105 mph (literally; he reached that mark once down the stretch, setting a record for all known readings on major-league radar guns). His average pitch, since joining the Reds, has been 100 mph. “This is stuff you just don’t see people do,” said Reds pitching coach Bryan Price. “You don’t see a guy whose low-end fastball on a particular day is 101 or 102, and this guy’s done it. That’s his low end. That’s just something I never thought I’d see in this lifetime.” . . . Tampa Bay just lost Game 2 to Texas, thank goodness (get that joke ballpark out of the picture), and there’s nothing the Rays can do about Evan Longoria, their best player, obviously hampered at the plate by the leg injury that kept him out of the last 10 games. But isn’t anybody on that staff watching B.J. Upton and his absurd hitting approach? Right before the pitch comes in, Upton raises his front foot and twists his toe inward, tapping it down for absolutely no good reason at all. One of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen from a good hitter. Upton has long been criticized for his lack of fundamentals, and somebody had better fix that during the off-season — if not tomorrow . . . If you know Atlanta at all, you’ll love this from espn.com‘s Tim Keown, a man still missed at the Chronicle after his sterling columns in the Green: “If it wasn’t cool 19 years ago, what does that make it now: The Tomahawk Chop, still going strong at the corner of Peachtree and Peachtree, just a block south of Peachtree.”